The devil's advocate april edition 2014

The Devil’s ADVOCATE

ISSUE 8 | April 2014

LSBU shortlisted for

‘Best Contribution by a Law School’ in the prestigious and coveted LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards 2014

Interview Special

Britain’s best-known commentator on the law, presenter of the popular Radio 4 Series ‘Law in Action’ – Joshua Rozenberg

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Illuminating opportunities for lawyers With expertise in crime & litigation, international criminal law & procedure and international human rights & development, LSBU is a popular choice for London lawyers looking to specialise.

Brighter reasons to study at LSBU – A local Southwark campus with excellent transport links; – Full-time and part-time course delivery offered; – LLMs delivered by experienced academics and guest leading practitioners including Imran Khan Solicitor (acted for family of Stephen Lawrence), Joel Bennathan, Solicitor and Roger Smith, former Director of Justice; – An excellent scholarship package for postgraduate students.

Find out more at: lsbu.ac.uk email: course.enquiry@lsbu.ac.uk 2tel: 0800 923 8888

A message from the editor Welcome to the Spring edition of ‘The Devil’s Advocate’, the magazine from LSBU’S Student Law Society.

A very warm welcome to Professor David Phoenix, LSBU’s new Vice Chancellor, who has kindly made an appearance at some of the events hosted by our Student Law Society. And what an eventful start of the New Year it has been! We’ve had special guest speakers such As Major General David Howell (former director of Army Legal Services), and Sir Andrew McFarlane (Lord Justice of Appeal). ‘Legal Futures’ editor, Neil Rose gave us a lecture on alternative routes into the law. In a unique opportunity, LSBU law students have taken part in a file closing project on behalf of Lewisham Law Centre and we’ve had a mooting match off between LSBU’s Student Law Society and the South London Law Society Junior Lawyers’ Division.

In our cover story this edition, Britain’s best-known commentator on the law and presenter of the popular BBC Radio 4 Series ‘Law in Action’ Joshua Rozenberg, talks to us about current issues within the law.

Halfway through the second semester, it’s time to start consolidating our reading in preparation for summer exams. Gary Slapper, Global Professor, New York University Director, New York University, London; gives LSBU law student some fantastic and exclusive tips on how to approach our revision.

Final year law students will also be thinking about the next chapter in their lives. Former barrister, Dupsy Abiola, founder of award-winning Intern Avenue which featured in ‘Dragons’ Den’ talks to us about how Intern Avenue seeks to help graduates begin their career through paid internships.

We have lots more featured in this issue! Again, our thanks to the LSBU Law Department, with special thanks to Kim Silver, and to Andy Unger, Head of Department who makes a guest appearance this edition!

Their support has ensured that this magazine has been a success and will continue to be so.

Future content of The Devil’s Advocate is open to student suggestions and so we welcome contributions. In the meantime, study hard and have a great Easter break!

Beverly Sowah, Editor, @lawDadvocate

In this Issue 4-5

Society news and announcements

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Exclusive interview with Britain’s best-known commentator on the law, presenter of the popular Radio 4 Series ‘Law in Action’– Joshua Rozenberg

8-9

14 – 15

Celebrating student success and the Global Law Summit

16 – 17

Legal Cheek introduces us to the 5 types of lawyer personalities

18 – 19

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Special Guest interview with Head of the Law Department at LSBU– Andy Unger

12 – 13

An article on Russian Corruption & the latest from the Street Law Project at LSBU that aims to engage school and colleges with the law

Mooting’s growing success at LSBU Professor Gary Slapper, Law columnist for The Times Online gives LSBU law students study tips for revision and exams Founder of award winning InternAvenue, Dupsey Abiola tells us how InternAvenue seeks to helps graduates begin their career through paid internships

20 – 21

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Winter Olympics special in our new sports law section

Editor, Beverly Sowah

Editorial team: Beverly Sowah Editor Megan Bennett Columnist, legal commentary Fabricio Godoy Reporter, International Section Leasha Newman Reporter, Sports Law Section Nasir Gray Reporter, Sports Law Section D2media ltd (d2media.co.uk) Design & Layout Kim Silver, Senior Law Lecturer Consulting editor

Thanks to those who contributed to this issue: • •

• •

• •

• • • • • •

Joshua Rozenberg Professor Gary Slapper LL.B (UCL), LL.M (UCL), PhD. (LSE) Global Law Summit Dupsey Abiola & team at Intern Avenue Legal Cheek The South London Law Society Junior Lawyers Division LSBU Department of Law LSBU Student Law Society Fabricio Godoy Megan Bennett Leasha Newman George Huxley

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News and recent events

On behalf of the staff and the entire student body, the Law Department would like to thank the outgoing 2013/2014 student law society executive for their tireless work in supporting students and promoting a fabulous programme of events, as well as mooting and the magazine. The executive were: • Akim Tejan-Cole, President • Mamona Dad, Vice-president • Theodora Anah, Treasurer • Gurleen Virk, Secretary • Victoria Akinyode, Welfare Officer • Ayindo Dalouba, Welfare Officer • Beverley Sowah, Editor, ‘The Devil’s Advocate’ • Ravi Suchak, Master of Moots Thank you!

• Kim Silver, Senior Lecturer, Consulting Editor, ‘The Devil’s Advocate’ • Paul Wynell-Sutherland, Staff Liaison Officer to the Student Law Society, Director of Mooting

Society News LawWorks and Attorney General Student Awards 2014 London South Bank University’s Law Department has been shortlisted for ‘Best Contribution by a Law School’ in the prestigious and coveted LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards 2014. (for more go to page 18)

Major General David Howell, barrister and former Director General of the Army Legal Services visits LSBU

The establishment of an international criminal court is a landmark in history. Major General David Howell delivered a talk to LSBU law students on military law and his involvement in negotiations and the influences that shaped the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

For more information on pathways into military law visit; www.army. mod.uk/home.aspx

Expand your Learning, broaden your mind

LSBU Internal Moot Competition Finals The LSBU Student Law Society recently launched its internal mooting competition. The internal moot finals was held on 13th March 2014 in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and was presided over by The Right Hon the Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore. (for more go to page 8)

Next Edition Autumn 2014

Follow LSBU’s Law Department on Twitter for news and information on law, careers, the legal profession, activities and events @lsbu_law

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File Closing project LSBU Law Society vs.

South London Law Society JLD LSBU’s Student Law Society recently took part in a mooting friendly against the South London Law Society/Junior Lawyers Division. SLSS firms generously donated three weeklong placements to participating student mooters. (for more go to page 9)

On 5th March 2014 Professor Sara Chandler, Visiting Professor in Clinical Legal Education at LSBU arranged a unique opportunity for a team of ten LSBU law students to assist supervising solicitor Carolyne Osbourne by volunteering for the Law Centres Network. The work involved confidential disposal of files and those intended for secure storage which were not completed when the Lewisham Law Centre was closed due to lack of funding.

The Law Centre opened in the 1970s providing representation at police stations to young people under the age of 18 when arrested, and people in danger of losing their homes, or people losing their jobs, or people with no social security. London South Bank University has had links to the Law Centre since 1980 when social work students had six month placements with the welfare rights unit, and the housing unit. Six years ago the Law Centre had to close when funding was withdrawn.

Professor Sara Chandler said: "The students did an excellent job, and contributed to the University's commitment to the local community, joining in a long standing tradition of voluntary work to their credit."

Upcoming events 28th March 2014 Election night results for the new executive committee 2014/2015 at the SU

3rd April 2014 Special Guest Lecture Justice of The Supreme Court, The Right Hon Lord Reed will be delivering a talk to LSBU law students

For law students currently living in the borough of Lewisham who might be interested in getting involved in the establishment of a new Law Centre in the area, please get in touch with Nik Antoniades at nikantoniades@gmail.com

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Interview

Britain’s best-known commentator on the law presenter of the popular Radio 4 Series ‘Law in Action’ and the only journalist to be included by The Times in its list of the UK’s 100 most influential lawyers — meet Joshua Rozenberg.

Joshua Rozenberg talks to LSBU’s Student Law magazine, ‘The Devil’s Advocate’. Beverly Sowah, Megan Bennett A decade after he left the BBC, Joshua returned in 2010 to present the popular Radio 4 series ‘Law in Action’, a programme he had launched in 1984. Also in 2010, he also accepted an invitation to chair Halsbury’s Law Exchange, an independent and politically neutral think-tank.

He appears regularly on Sky News, the BBC news channel and other news networks in the UK and the US. He has also been a guest on popular entertainment programmes such as ‘The One Show’ and ‘The Alan Titchmarsh Show’.

Well respected by lawyers and the judiciary, Joshua is often asked to chair or address legal conferences and other corporate events.

pressure on the UK but they are not doing much more. They pointed out that there are a number of compensation claims which were pending and which the court has now unfrozen.

So from that point of view there is pressure on the UK to do something about it. But I don’t think the court wants to force a confrontation. So long as it can be seen that the Government is doing something — and of course it has this draft bill being considered by Parliament, a Select Committee is looking into it, taking evidence which it did this autumn, which you can see as a delaying tactic certainly — it shows Strasbourg that the UK Government is at least doing something, even if it’s not going to actually lead anywhere.

You’ve spoken at length on prisoners’ rights to vote and the Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill 2012 put forward to Parliament, with three options for consideration. Which of the three options being proposed do you think would satisfy the ECtHR ruling?

I think that six months would be acceptable. Four years is obviously suitable. What is not suitable is no change.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe put out another resolution yesterday calling on the UK to do something about it. I think the Council of Europe has accepted that there isn’t going to be any change before the next general election, in reality. They are keeping up the

You were invited by the European Commission recently to deliver an introductory speech at a major conference in Brussels, aimed at “shaping justice policies in Europe for the years to come”. In your speech you touched on the EU justice scoreboard (http://ec.europa.eu/justice/effective-justice/ scoreboard/index_en.htm) and said you hoped it improved respect for the rule of law. How do you think the UK will score on this board? (laughs) I think to be fair, the UK scores very well on the rule of law. The one area where it has not scored well is, respect for the decision from Strasbourg on prisoners’ votes. Apart

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from that, the UK has an excellent record on implementing Strasbourg decisions. Successive British governments have respected decisions from the UK courts; they’ve not defied the courts, they have not deported people contrary to law or refused to follow decisions of the courts. Where the UK is vulnerable in terms of the rule of law is on access to justice and legal aid. You could argue that, even if we aren’t at this stage now, we soon will be at a stage where it will be very difficult for people to get justice. That is a problem for the rule of law. With pro bono work, advice bureaux and general support on the whole, there is a sufficient level of access to justice. But we’re teetering on the edge of a situation where it will not be possible for people facing criminal charges to get defence lawyers in serious cases. We’re not there yet but I think that’s where the UK government is going to be vulnerable.

In your recent series of BBC 4 Law in Action, there was an episode on “Too many law students and not enough jobs”. Rather than say “don’t study law because there aren’t any jobs” shouldn’t there be an effort to promote alternative careers in the law for students?

Well, that would be a very good idea. If you start with the Bar; you’re going to be able to practise at the Bar only if you can get pupillage. You’re only going to get pupillage if there are barristers willing to take on pupils. Barristers will be willing to take on pupils only if those barristers are doing well enough in their careers to afford the time and investment in a pupil: paying a pupil and mentoring. If the Bar is under pressure as it is, particularly in the criminal side, it is going to discourage barristers from taking pupils. So, one might then say, as you have: if you’re going to restrict the availability of pupillage why should pupillage be necessary in order to become a barrister?

If you look in Scotland and Northern Ireland they have a library structure for the Bar rather than sets of chambers. My impression is it’s easier to get pupillage in those jurisdictions.

So you then say: why not have another route into the system?

That also depends on the availability of work; if there isn’t the work there’s no point in recruiting people. I think the reality is that there isn’t enough work at the moment to sustain the number of people who want to become lawyers. If ultimately there is less need for lawyers there will be less need for students and I’m not sure if alternative ways into the system will necessarily work. Of course you can start work as a legal executive. You can then qualify as a barrister or a solicitor. It’s a very good way in. But, in the end, if there isn’t enough work then lawyers aren’t going to take people on.

Will Law in Action ever move from radio to TV? It’s been tried once, but it didn’t work. The problem with law is that it’s all about ideas, concepts, principles and it’s difficult to illustrate those ideas, concepts and principles on television. Until very recently, you couldn’t film inside the courts. Now, you can, to some limited extent, record in the Court of Appeal. If you are trying to explain a judgment, what do you illustrate it with? The judgment is only on paper and you need to explain what it is says. It doesn’t make for exciting television. When they tried doing a law programme

on television, it ended up being about crime — which you can illustrate. There are things, broadly speaking, that are easier to do on radio. Television news coverage of legal issues consists of somebody standing on the street outside the court, some sketches of what has gone on in court and endless shots of people entering and leaving court. This does not make exciting television.

What made you interested in pursuing the law?

It was a subject one didn’t do at school, so I knew I wasn’t bad at it because I hadn’t done it before. (laughs) I thought it would be a useful subject to study at university and obviously it links to a profession, so in some ways it’s a practical subject. I’m not saying that the course I studied — which included Roman law — was necessarily going to be of huge use as a practitioner, but it did at least seem to point towards a job in a way that History or English didn’t. I had always been interested in the structure of the constitution, how the country was run in politics and public affairs. It’s probably why I did a law degree. Then, having done a law degree, it seemed obvious to become a lawyer.

You qualified as a lawyer but moved into legal journalism. Using your own experience, what advice would you give to law students with an interest in legal journalism and how to get started?

There’s very little scope for traditional legal journalism these days, by which I mean writing for newspapers or magazines.

Soon after I started in legal journalism, the BBC had three legal correspondents, some of whom did other things as well.

All the major daily newspapers had legal correspondents and it was a generally a busy field. Nowadays, not all newspapers have legal correspondents. The BBC did without a legal correspondent for several years after I left. There seemed to be less work around. What has replaced that is blogging and people who write for the various websites. Some of it is paid work, some of it is not. Legal journalism as such is quite a vulnerable area because people who want legal commentary have discovered that there are plenty of people prepared to provide it without charging for it. There are lawyers who blog and who are happy to broadcast about breaking stories, for which they are not paid. So that makes it less likely that the publishers and broadcasters are going to call in freelance legal journalists. There are very few career prospects for legal journalists.

Are there any prominent figures within the law that you respect?

David Pannick QC, a member of the House of Lords, is very good at what he does and another very good lawyer from the same set of chambers is Dinah Rose QC. She is formidable.

You chaired a debate on legal aid for the Bar Council.

Following that, could you see yourself as a front runner for Question Time if David Dimbleby retires?

No I don’t. It would be nice though, wouldn’t it? He’s hanging onto that job rather firmly. (laughs)

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Mooting

Mooting at LSBU– 2011 - 2014 When I was appointed to LSBU, mooting was very much an activity that was undertaken by the few, and the only events were the Student Law Society internal mooting competition and the external London University Mooting Shield (LUMS) where we sat at the bottom of the league.

My aims were clear. Andy Unger, the Head of Law, wanted mooting to have a higher profile within the Law Department and also to be made more accessible to the student body as a whole.

My first order of the day was to meet the student committee to canvass their ideas, as it was imperative to have their support to make mooting a success within LSBU. The new mooting initiative was based on demonstration and students having a go themselves. It offers opportunities for students to develop their employability skills as well as using their legal knowledge. To that end, mooting workshops and mini-moots were offered to enable students to develop their mooting skills in a safe environment and to build confidence. These in turn encouraged participation in the internal competition.

Furthermore, as students progressed through their degree, they were offered opportunities to provide student-led workshops and to judge alongside academic members of staff. New to this year, as a result of the active involvement of the student law society, was a friendly mooting tourney organised with the South London Law Society (Junior Division). The event was presided over by Mr Justice Silber, with a well-earned victory by LSBU students.

LSBU’s renewed mooting activity has reflected in the number of external practitioners who have offered not only their time as judges but also moot master classes. Only last week Joel Bennathan QC provided a master class to this year’s internal competition finalists at his prestigious Doughty Street Chambers.

It was also our aim to improve the external mooting profile of LSBU, which over the past three years has been raised dramatically with some fantastic results in external events. We reached sixth position on the LUMS league table and round 3 of the OUP National Mooting Competition. In this current academic year, LSBU is participating in the following external events:

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• Oxford University Press National Mooting Competition • English Speaking Union National Mooting Competition • Blackstone’s National Criminal Advocacy Competition • The National Law Society eMoot • The University of Salford National Speed Moot.

The pinnacle of this year’s achievement was the final round of the internal mooting competition which was held on 13th March 2014 in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and was presided over

by The Right Hon the Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore. The event was a spectacular battle of advocacy between Law Department students; Thomas Spencer and Samantha Balla for the appellants, and Alexandra Varga and Lewis Hooper for the Respondents, with the appellants adjudged the winners by a hair’s breadth. All the finalists will be offered a place in next year’s London Universities Mooting Shield external competition. Lord Kerr stated that he “was extremely impressed with the standard of advocacy and mooting of all the students involved”. Overall, the event was a great success and was well attended by the LSBU Law Society, students and staff alike.

Furthermore the Law Department was privileged to secure the attendance of Douglas Denham St. Pinnock, Independent Governor to LSBU who was extremely impressed with the whole event.

Quite simply, mooting has grown dramatically in the past few years with the majority of students wanting to take part in some form or another. We now have a strong group of student mooters who are ready and willing to take on other institutions and to make our mark!

Finally, thank you to all of you who have supported mooting at LSBU. Paul Wynell-Sutherland, Director of Mooting

The Mooting Games London South Bank University Law Society vs South London Law Society Junior Lawyers Division Sehaj Lamba

IMAGE:

Working at Hanne & Co affords numerous opportunities to become involved in the community and the local Law Society is a particularly significant ingredient to life at the firm. I was therefore delighted to represent the firm at a recent mooting competition organised by the South London Law Society JLD at London South Bank University (LSBU). Mooting is an educating experience for law students, enabling them to employ legal research, teamwork and advocacy skills.

The two teams competing in the moot were students from LSBU and members of the South London Law Society JLD. The Law Society team included solicitor Tom Henry of Anthony Gold, paralegal Kishan Patel of Russell Cooke and myself, a trainee solicitor at Hanne & Co. The event was jointly organised and run by South London Law Society JLD Chair and solicitor Harry Dronfield of Hanne & Co and LSBU Student Law Society President Akim Tejan-Cole. We were delighted that the Honourable Mr Justice Silber accepted our invitation to preside over the event and join us for drinks before and after the moot.

The moot related to a fictitious Supreme Court appeal case involving unlawful act manslaughter resulting from the supply and administration of drugs. This area of law is highly complex due to conflicting case law and answers to legal questions are seldom clear cut. My submissions utilised obiter comments made by their Lordships in a significant House of Lords case. The students performed to a high standard and our team, who practise family, property and immigration law, rose to the challenge of exploring criminal law arguments.

Much groundwork went into the moot, including

ample research and the preparation of bundles containing key authorities and skeleton arguments.

LSBU represented the Appellant and our team represented the Respondent Crown, responding to appeal grounds. Each team presented submissions of 30 minutes followed by rebuttal and intermittent challenges from the judge.

As the moot was held in a courtroom setting before a High Court judge and alongside real legal practitioners it served to be greatly beneficial to the students’ learning experience. The experience of a mock trial was invaluable, as students were able to practice both advocating submissions and reacting to opponents and questions of the judge. Interesting legal arguments were put forward by both sides, in view of the complex nature of the case at hand.

The moot played out before practitioners and students alike however the star of the show was undoubtedly the Honourable Mr Justice Silber who, exercising his extensive courtroom experience, was not shy of testing the speakers.

The moot was followed by networking drinks where students had the opportunity to speak to us about our experiences. Both participants and observers enjoyed the chance to intermingle and share thoughts on the evening’s events.

Harry Dronfield was thrilled at the outcome of the successful moot, stating “Both teams performed to a high standard and were credited by Mr Justice Silber for the quality of their submissions. Special thanks to the student Law Society at LSBU, the teams and Mr Justice Silber”.

Hanne & Co look forward to taking part in more exciting Law Society events in the future.

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Revision

REVISING LAW, AND TAKING LAW EXAMS

by Professor Gary Slapper

Law was not always a glamorous subject. Until quite recently in legal history, even as relatively recent as 60 years ago, law was generally seen as a rather dull subject offering dreary prospects to a narrow range of people.

In the words of the legal academic A W B Simpson, who taught at Oxford, the law historically at university was “treated as the appropriate home for rowing men of limited intellect”. That’s rowing with oars, not being angrily argumentative. Reading for the Bar tended to work on family connections and becoming a solicitor was not fearfully difficult.

In the 19th century it was possible for solicitors to become wealthy men and some of them according to one historical account “got into the landed gentry as quickly as they could”. But the ordinary solicitor was still not acceptable. Even into the second half of the 19th century, solicitors were generally regarded by the upper classes as

tradesmen who if they visited a barrister’s home, entered by the back door.

In the 1950s, seven out of ten solicitors did not have a degree. Sir John Mortimer QC, the creator of Rumpole of the Bailey, once wrote about this sort of time that “no brilliance is needed in the law, nothing but common sense, and relatively clean fingernails”.

Today, law is a highly scientific, voluminous, multidisciplinary subject in which success depends upon a great deal of sustained scholarship and learning.

Here are some tips you might find useful about how to do revision and what to do in examinations.

The best way to revise is whatever works for you best.

So the following points are not intended to be prescriptive or universally applicable. You might, though, benefit from some of them.

How to tackle revision

• The best way to read is with the purpose of explaining it to someone else. Explaining it is also the fastest way to identify your knowledge gaps.

• Like chess, swimming or Super Mario, being good at three-hour exams requires practice. Even periodic practice of a 45 minute essays helps get you good at thinking and writing quickly in that time-frame.

• A week before you sit your exams, you don't want to be carrying your revision aids in a wheelbarrow so several weeks earlier is the time to start to précis everything in your notes and books on to cards.

• In the last three or four weeks before exams you should be doing some revision every day, seven days a week. Routine is the closest companion of massknowledge absorption. Learning benefits greatly from a regular pattern.

• Don't revise with a tower of tomes. Revise up a gentle incline. First, use notes or a small book, then use a bigger book, and only use the ginormous book once you have mastered the topic at lower levels.

• Every important skill, like surgery or aviation, uses checklists. After revising a topic, memorise its key components list – this is a superb exam aid.

• Repetitive reading is a key to absorb the prolific information.

• Putting a technical legal matter in a context (such as a social, historical, or economic one) is important but avoid drifting into that until you’ve mastered the how the law works on any topic.

• Learn cases in a way that enables you to express each one's ratio decidendi (and possible dissents) rather than just how to recite the facts of the case as a story.

• One vital equation before you start: calculate the number of days left until exams and divide it by the number of subjects you have to revise. Divide your time equally. Colour code the calendar. Spend no longer than three days in a row on one subject.

• Being able to summarise a large topic is invaluable: a 10-word skeleton is very helpful eg the whole of contract as: Offer/Acceptance/Consideration/ Intention etc. Get the view from helicopter not from woods.

• Candidates who know 10 topics well generally do better than those who know three inside out and seven lightly. So allocate revision time to keep everything even.

• Some papers demand full-syllabus knowledge, but where not, don't revise less than 80% of the course.

Avoid putting all your bets on a few options and playing Million Pound Drop with a year of your life.

• Can you write as fast as you want non-stop in a three hour exam? Most people can't. Don't let your hand let down your head; practise writing three-hour papers all in one go.

• A misspelled word is a wrongly sung note. Don't spoil your audition on: supersede, accommodation, appellant, grievous, argument, homicide etc. Learn the spelling of any key legal words on which you currently falter.

• NB "re" in revision; it means 'again'. Master what you've previously read; don't use previously unused books/podcasts as they can confuse.

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• You'll understand and remember what you read much better if you talk to someone about it. They might, of course, feign boredom but please ignore that.

• Einstein: "You don't really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother". Recite topics to a reciprocating friend.

• After every three-hour revision session, don't dash away to something else until you can recite to the wall of your room all you've learned. The wall is your friend and won't judge you.

Before the exam • In-exam sustenance rules vary. A banana is a good source of easy energy, and silent to unwrap and eat, unlike a small bag of popcorn.

• Most people don't do well on a quadruple espresso before an exam. Full-fat milk is good as it is sustaining and calming. In the exam, sip water a few times.

• Whether you prefer to eat a full fry-up or yogurt and superberries before each exam depends on your taste. It is worth remembering that carbs can be more soporific than proteins. Don't binge on anything sugary before the exam if that will make you crash, as it does for many, while you are in the exam.

In the exam • In the exam, an occasional mint is nice. I'd say Polos.

Avoid a chewy ones that pull fillings or a full box of very more-ish After Eights • Write a good introduction to each answer. It should be very brief. To do this well you must first jot down in rough a six or 10-point answer plan. Introductions should be 5-10 lines of prose identifying the issue(s), defining terms if necessary, and noting your answer's format.

• An exam isn't a dissertation. Nail many points tersely, adducing pertinent authority; a clever point testifies that you know context.

• Don't use bulking water in your recipes. In your answers, ensure that every point is appropriate and thus creditable.

• Don’t be worried about giving either/or answers. It is perfectly creditable to argue "if the courts follow the decision in A v B then Miss P will succeed, whereas if the courts accept the reasoning of C v D, then Mr R will succeed. Remember, in real-life appeals, 50 per cent of lawyers are wrong in every case. The answers to legal conundrums are not as mechanically predictable as some other disciplines.

• Ensure everything you say is germane to what you've been asked. Reply as precisely as you would to: 'How do you make scrambled eggs?'

• Obey exact instruction (explain, evaluate, advise) and to maximise your mark, tailor your knowledge for a bespoke answer, don't just recite a theme.

• To shine in questions on theory or philosophy, it's necessary to be succinct in one’s exposition and fuller on what the question asks, e.g. "assess" or "discuss."

• Before each answer, scribble a 10-point plan on rough paper, 1 word per point. Thoughtfully ordered answers are cogent; zigzag ones suggest confusion.

• Underlining case titles is optional but if you do, leave the geometry kit at home and do it freestyle. Don't angst out if you forget a case date.

• Never overrun in answering the first question. Give equal time to all answers as it is much easier to win the first 11 marks out of 25 allocated to each answer than for your 4th answer than to raise the 15 marks you’ve got to 18 in your first answer.

• In a 3-hour exam where you’re asked to answer 4 questions, if you overrun the 45 minutes on your first answer and spend 60 minutes on it because you know that topic so well, and so on through your answers, you might only get 20 minutes to answer your fourth question. Most candidates, though, would score higher if they spent 45 minutes on each question.

• A conclusion isn't "So what I've said is [followed by a summary of what you have written]". A conclusion should cite the consequences of what you have argued in your essay, ie what follows from the points you’ve already made.

• It's ok to postulate alternative conclusions in problem questions.

• Avoid long expository passages on the general theme of the question but not tailored to the precise question asked. Don't simply give the examiner a colour street map of the whole topic; give a black and white map with the answer route marked in highlighter.

Professor Gary Slapper LL.B (UCL), LL.M (UCL), PhD. (LSE), Director, New York University, London; Global Professor, New York University You can follow him on Twitter @garyslapper

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Internships

From barrister to budding entrepreneur.

Introducing Dupsy Abiola, founder of awarding winning Intern Avenue as seen on Dragons’ Den. Dupsy was recently selected by Google to take part in this year’s exclusive Blackbox Connect in partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs between March 17-28 in Silicon Valley. The aim of this was to connect entrepreneurs globally with resources in Silicon Valley, while also helping them become bigger role models in their local communities.

In an exclusive interview with ‘The Devil’s Advocate’, Dupsy talks to us about the rise of Intern Avenue.

Dupsy, could you tell our readers a bit about your own background as a barrister?

I read law at Oxford University and then worked for the British Medical Association (an association which advises doctors on employment issues) for a few months before starting Bar School. I attended Inns of Court School of Law where I did my bar vocational training. I was fortunate to have a pupillage lined up at 22 Old Buildings (a common law/ commercial set). Following pupillage, I went into private practice working as an employed barrister at a leading professional indemnity firm.

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What inspired you to start Intern Avenue?

I have experienced first-hand the difficulty that employers and candidates go through as they try to find relevant and suitable opportunities. This would include the time and expense that is often involved. I was inspired to start Intern Avenue because I wanted to create a better system for businesses to find the candidates that they are looking for and to make candidates more discoverable. Despite the high level of applicant competition, most employers would like the ability to proactively target candidates. They can do so on our system.

What distinguishes Intern Avenue from other recruitment companies currently out there?

The unique thing about Intern Avenue is that it leverages technology and data to bring compatible people and companies together, almost like a dating agency. We have gathered a lot of relevant information from our members and we use that to accurately suggest potential internships to them. It takes away the stress, anxiety and time of searching from both the student and the employer. Instead of having to scroll through many vaguely relevant CVs in search of a few great candidates, with

Intern Avenue employers have a list of relevant and highly qualified students to choose from. Our system eliminates waste from the hiring process.

Which companies feature in Intern Avenue that currently offer paid internships for law students?

The opportunities on the site are constantly changing so it is best to sign up and be matched to ones which might be the best fit.

As a former law student myself, I think that many law students are often unaware of the breadth of potential opportunities that are open to them particularly outside of the traditional legal sector. At Intern Avenue, we work with a range of businesses from trendy start-ups to larger companies who have looking for people with legal skills or training to help with contract administration, IP work and a wide assortment of other work. I would encourage all students to think big!

What has been challenging to date with Intern Avenue?

You cannot make a diamond without pressure. When you start your own business everything is a challenge so I would not now where to begin. I tend to think of challenges as opportunities to learn. I enjoy trying to solve the challenges and actually find it hard to turn off.

Will Intern Avenue extend their marketing to American users and internationally?

The priority for this year is to really make an impact in the UK. Intern Avenue has only been in existence for a little over a year and while we have done well, the UK internship

We’re currently hiring a lot of new staff and have just moved into new offices just off Oxford Street.

industry is very competitive and there is a lot that we feel that we can do. We’re currently hiring a lot of new staff and have just moved into new offices just off Oxford Street. The expectation is that we’ll grow rapidly and continue fine-tuning our unique product.

However, international expansion is definitely in our thoughts and but that’s something we’ll start executing in 12-18 months. But in 2014, our thoughts are 100% on becoming the first place students look for internships and employers look for interns.

What do you envision for the future of Intern Avenue?

Becoming the premium place for quality, fully-paid internships for students and recent graduates is definitely something I want to, and definitely believe we can, achieve.

You featured on the Dragons’ Den and gave a very confident pitch. What advice would you give to students and recent graduates on how to communicate effectively in front of an audience?

Practise, practise, practise. No matter how good you are there is no better training than live experience. I also think that if in doubt take a moment to think before you speak and always be polite. If you do those three things you can’t go far wrong.

How will Intern Avenue bridge the gap for graduates seeking employment within a shrinking market in the current economy?

One way we can help is by leveraging the data that we collect from our users to provide an even more personal and accurate recruitment process. During the recession, a lot of graduates suddenly found themselves in a position where they couldn’t get into entry level positions for jobs they’d spent three years in university training for. In fact, 19% of graduates are currently in non-graduate jobs, a figure which has increased by 10% in the past decade. At Intern Avenue, we want to help graduates begin their career by getting their foot into the door and turning that internship into a full-time job. The most obvious thing is to connect them to jobs that they’re suited for and interested in. In some cases, we have introduced them to careers that they are qualified for but may not have considered.

You can follow Intern Avenue on

Twitter @internavenue

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Celebrating student success

Introducing Leasha Newman, a second law student at LSBU. Leasha talks to us about winning The Sweet & Maxwell Law Prize, an award that recognizes the highest achieving law student.

First, congratulations on winning the Sweet & Maxwell Law Prize.

What was your approach to studying to ensure you performed at your best and did you find it challenging?

Thank you very much. My approach was to study hard and always be fully prepared for classes. I utilise my days off from university to prepare for seminars and recap on my lecture notes. During revision time I make revised notes, read over them regularly and complete practice questions to test my knowledge.

What was your prize?

There was a ceremony in the Keyworth Building on 23rd January 2014. I was presented with my prize

by David Phoenix, the Vice Chancellor of LSBU. My prize consisted of certificates for best performing continuing student on the full time LLB. Also a gift of ÂŁ75 to spend on Sweet & Maxwell books.

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Why did you choose to study law?

I always had a slight interest in law from a young age and I was fascinated by legal programmes on TV, so I decided to choose law as an option in college to learn more about it. In doing this option I thoroughly enjoyed it, I liked learning about old cases and structuring arguments and advice. I also really liked the fact that there are so many sectors to law, so I knew that I would be able to find something to suit me.

What advice would you give to first year law students?

I would advise first year students that time management and preparation are the key to success.

Always prepare for and attend seminars as this will reinforce the material delivered in the lectures.

Furthermore, when it comes to revision for exams, plan your schedule realistically. A balance is needed between study and social time.

What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation I plan to complete the LPC and I hope to have obtained a training contract before graduation so that I can go straight into my training contract upon completion of the LPC. I hope to have a career as a solicitor in a commercial city law firm.

What do you love about studying law at London South Bank University?

I love studying at London Southbank because of the opportunities available to students. In this day and age it is not all about knowledge and good grades, experience is vital and this university gives us that opportunity. There is the opportunity to volunteer at the Legal Advice Clinic and other opportunities in the second year on the working in the law module.

Global Law Summit inspires women for 800 minutes To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March 2014, the Global Law Summit offered 13 high achieving women, aspiring to be lawyers, who are in their vocational training year, the opportunity to meet with successful women lawyers who are in practice to help them in their professional career. This is one of a number of initiatives that the Summit is developing in the lead-up to the Summit itself in February 2015, in London.

‘Inspiring Change’ is one of the themes for International Women’s Day, and is also a core theme of the Global Law Summit, which will take place 800 years since the Magna Carta was sealed, and which has inspired jurisdictions around the world ever since.

Some of the City’s leading lawyers and law firms were involved in the mentoring scheme, demonstrating women’s integral contribution and importance to the legal sector.

Participants included Rosemary Martin, UK General Counsel & Company Secretary, Vodafone and winner of the 2013 Women in the City Award for Legal Services, and Karen Clayton, UK General Counsel & Company Secretary, National Grid and 2013 Women in the City Award runner-up.

Jennie Gubbins and Jane Keir, Senior Partners at Trowers & Hamlins and Kingsley Napley respectively, also took part along with other solicitors and barristers who volunteered their time to advise mentees.

Julia Bateman, Director of the Global Law Summit, said: “I am delighted that the Global Law Summit marked International Women’s Day with such a successful week of action designed to inspire and support the next generation of women lawyers.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for them to discuss the important issues around women in the profession and gave them the chance to ask any questions about the career they are looking to embark upon.

“Diversity and inclusion is a core objective of the legal profession, and whilst there are a number of different initiatives in this arena there is always more that can be done and I am proud that the Global Law Summit is able to make a contribution.”

To find out more about the Summit, please visit www.globallawsummit.com, and follow us on twitter: @globallawsummit

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Widely known for its satirical approach to legal news and commentary, Legal Cheek clues us in on the 5 types of lawyer personalities and offers tips on how to handle them

By WaitroseLaw (with permission to republish)

THE TWITTER-MAD BARRISTER The Bar has traditionally performed a vital social function by siphoning off the most obnoxious Oxbridge grads and corralling them safely in a few square miles in the Temple. There, they are able to bask in the sound of their own voices and revel in cloistered self-importance. Unless you took a wrong turning off Fleet Street on a dark night, they were, before the advent of social media, pretty easy to avoid.

Barristers have, of course, taken to Twitter with remarkable enthusiasm, realising intuitively that it offers the opportunity to share every fleeting thought with a world desperate to listen. No longer confined to droning on in conference long after the biscuits have run out or boring the judge, the Twitter-Mad Barrister can now bombard his mailing list with case updates, Instagram his breakfast, live-tweet his train journey and update his blog all before he even gets to court.

Encouraged, perhaps, by media stars like professional controversialist Barbara Hewson and the inescapable Daniel Barnett, our learned friends now account for almost as much social media traffic as cat memes. Perhaps it's not surprising in today's tough legal market: the combination of a dwindling workload and high-speed chambers internet connection makes it very tempting to while away the hours online. Alas, with legal aid cuts and lorry drivers muscling-in on the work, Twitter-Mad Barristers — and their close relations, Twitter-Mad Barristers (non-practising) — seem set to continue to multiply as long as social media stays free.

THE TOXIC TRAINEE

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In these difficult times for those beginning careers in the law, an awareness has dawned among trainee solicitors that any show of weakness could see them consigned to the paralegal scrapheap. Hence the current popularity of inch-thick cotton shirts, obsessively-shined shoes and suits that cost more than a small family car.

The Toxic Trainee strides through the office in a haze of palpable ambition and slightly too much aftershave. His sartorial extravagance is matched only by his relentless self-confidence. Not for him the mundanity of gradually learning on the job; from the first day of his training contract, his will be the loudest voice on any conference call and the chummiest banter with clients. He’ll happily proclaim himself an expert on virtually anything, having last felt a quiver of self-doubt in 1997, and within days will have established himself as the firm’s most followed tweeter.

Irritatingly, this pushiness seems to endear him to many partners, who are lulled into a false sense of security by his amiability. If they realised quite how fervently he wants their job, they’d hire someone to taste all their food. On the other hand, there’s a small wax model of the Toxic Trainee in every feeearner’s desk drawer, festooned with drawing pins in a vain attempt at vengeance for swiping all the best work.

THE ABSENT FRIEND Every department has one: an equity partner who’s been with the firm since the 1890s, and, on the back of a reputation for epic client schmoozing, manages to command annual drawings of a level that continually threaten to plunge his firm into Halliwells-style oblivion.

Like any exotic creature, the Absent Friend is rarely sighted. Once in a blue moon they descend on the office, throwing their PA into a state of panic by asking her to process a stack of expense claims that looks like the galley proof for A La Recherche du Temps Perdu.

A stranger to such arcane practices as sending emails, filing papers and time-recording, the Absent Friend is nevertheless an asset to any quiz team and an incomparable source of gossip — if you can catch them for long enough. Their smooth self-assurance cracks only occasionally — when someone asks a question about the law. If you can establish yourself as their go-to person for any tricky technical questions (like ‘What’s the Companies Act?’), you’ll have made yourself indispensable.

THE RADICAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER The Radical Human Rights Lawyer is in denial. Having built his career when government funding for the law was plentiful (and reaped the associated financial benefits), he has managed to preserve a vision of himself as a left-wing student rather than a paid-up member of the 1%.

He’ll moan about the “scruffy” area he lives in to the couch-surfing paralegals who work for him gratis, before returning to his £1 million of prime Victoriana on his £2,000 carbon fibre bike. Although his children have 19th century servants’ names (Jack, Rosie and Esme are classic examples), he’d be horrified if they didn’t get into their first choice school and had to mix with some actual working class people.

At work, the Radical Human Rights Lawyer is a mercurial blend of matey and demanding, as he tries vainly to reconcile his sense of identity with the fact he’s earning 20 times your salary. The best approach is to flatter his delusions of Bohemia (try recommending a mezcal bar or low-budget arthouse film) while ignoring the fact that he speaks to you in the same voice he uses to his cleaner and his kids.

THE (SELF-APPOINTED) STYLE EXPERT The 21st century legal profession is forward-looking and commercially orientated, welcoming diversity and...oh, who am I kidding? It’s full of chauvinists old and new, whose progression from public school to partnership via a spell at one of the fustier Oxbridge colleges has left them incapable of relating to women as human beings, while still being leeringly obsessed with their underwear.

The result: a succession of sartorial dictats which highlight the thin line that female lawyers have to tread to pander to these inadequates without threatening them. Look feminine (flat shoes definitely not allowed), but not too sexy. Look groomed, but not like you care too much about your appearance and, ladies, don’t forget to smile! All the while the (Self-Appointed) Style Expert continues dreaming of the day Matron caught him in the shower.

Of course, with women now making up around 60% of newly-admitted solicitors, he can’t ignore them altogether and he’ll even (grudgingly) dole out some work to them when it suits him. But don’t expect to have any client contact unless he wants to dangle an ornament in front of them over dinner, nor that he’ll ever hold a serious conversation with you — in fact, best to abandon the idea of conversation altogether, unless you’re prepared for him to fail entirely to keep his eyes on your face.

For more great reads from Legal Cheek visit: www.legalcheek.com Follow on Twitter @legalcheek

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Applications to work in the LSBU Legal Advice Clinic in the academic year 2014/15 will open shortly.

LLB and CH undergraduate students will be sent an email to their LSBU email accounts before the Easter vacation 2014. This email will contain an application pack and application form.

The closing date for applications will be Friday 2 May 2014.

THE CLINIC SERVICE • The LSBU Legal Advice Clinic is a free face-to-face community legal advice centre based at Caxton House on Borough Road.

• We opened to the public in September 2011 and have helped approaching 1000 clients.

• The Clinic is open during term time only on Tuesday mornings, Wednesday mornings and afternoons, and Thursday evenings. You must be regularly available for one or more of these time slots.

• The daytime sessions are public drop-ins staffed by Student Clinic Volunteers under the supervision of solicitors on the Law Department staff.

• Working in pairs, trained students interview drop-in clients and either: • Give generalist advice, under supervision • Make referrals to local advice agencies and solicitors • Or refer to our own evening sessions • At our evening sessions, Student Volunteers shadow pro bono solicitors & barristers giving advice in particular areas of law such as housing, family and employment law.

YOUR COMMITMENT • You need to be able to start volunteering and still be an LSBU law student in September 2014.

• The minimum time requirement for Student Clinic Volunteers is thirteen sessions over one academic year.

• You also need to be available for two training days at the start of the new academic year.

A HIGH QUALITY WORK PLACEMENT • The Clinic has been shortlisted for the LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards 2014 • In 2012, the Clinic was praised in the Million+ think tank’s report ‘Teaching that Matters’ for involving students in a valuable community service while they gain real-world legal experience, develop transferable skills and enhance their employability prospects.

• In 2012, the Clinic Team won the LSBU VC’s Enterprising Staff Award.

LawWorks and Attorney General Awards shortlisting LSBU has been shortlisted for ‘Best Contribution by a Law School’ in the prestigious and coveted LawWorks and Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards 2014.

These national awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and students in the provision of pro bono (free) legal work for their local communities.

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The awards ceremony is due to be held at the House of Commons in early April 2014 when Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC MP, will be announcing the winners.

The Law Department has been shortlisted for 3 linked projects: (1) the innovative drop-in LSBU Legal Advice Clinic; (2) the Drop-In Clinic Operating Manual that the Higher Education Academy funded us to write for other universities to use when setting up their own clinics; and (3) the new Lambeth County Court Help Desk.

Alan Russell, Director of the LSBU Legal Advice Clinic, said “I’m delighted that we’ve been shortlisted for the Attorney General’s Pro Bono Awards; it’s testament to the hard work and dedication of all the students and staff who have worked on these projects. The Clinic and the new County Court help desk are meeting a vital need for legal advice and support in our local community and at the same time providing outstanding teaching and learning opportunities for our law students”

Staff Profile

Andy Unger In this editions new staff profile series, we welcome a special guest interview with Andy Unger, our Head of Department at London South Bank University

By Beverly Sowah

In your role as Head of the Law Department at London South Bank University, describe what a typical day like is for you?

A typical day will involve lots of meetings with colleagues at a Departmental, Faculty and University level, unless I am teaching which I enjoy much more.

I also go to professional meetings to discuss developments in the legal profession and opportunities for LSBU Law students. Recently these have included the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, the South London Law Society, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and some of our Visiting Professors and Fellows.

What where some of the influences that encouraged you to pursue the study of law?

At school I wasn’t sure what career or profession to pursue but my Mum worked in a solicitor’s office and law seemed interesting, well paid and worthwhile. Also a law degree was a good preparation for lots of different careers, so that’s what I chose to study at University (after a year spent working and travelling in France, Greece and India!). I worked in a theatre for another year, after

University, before finally settling on the law and going to law school to qualify as a solicitor.

On current issues within the law, we saw barristers recently stage a walk out over cuts to criminal legal aid – In your opinion, what are the long term damages to cuts.

The damage is to access to justice.

Ordinary people, especially poor and vulnerable people, will not be able to get help with legal problems and so those problems will go unresolved – shoddy goods, debt, eviction and poor housing, unfair dismissal, etc. People who can’t afford private legal fees will have to represent themselves or seek help from unqualified and unregulated ‘lawyers’. The challenge is how to address unmet legal need at a cost that the public can afford and are willing to pay, whether through fees, insurance or taxation. Our Legal Advice Centre and the Lambeth County Court Help Desk are small but worthwhile contributions to addressing this challenge. However, I believe that there is no proper substitute to a fully funded Legal Aid system and that the hidden costs to society of unresolved legal problems (crime, prisons, health, welfare, etc)

are much greater than the costs of a fully funded service.

What motto do you live by?

Here are three that I like: • Happiness depends upon ourselves.

- Aristotle • It is better to travel well than to arrive.

- The Buddha • Know thyself.

- Socrates Do you have any parting words to our final year law students at LSBU? Thanks for choosing LSBU !

The transition from study to work is challenging. University provides your life with structure, purpose and community (and plenty of holidays).

You can travel optimistically because everything lies ahead of you and everything still seems possible.

When you start work, you are no longer valued for your potential but for what you actually deliver.

You will have to work harder than before, at study, at work, on family and friendship and at working out your goals and purpose in life. Take it seriously and enjoy it. Be the best version of yourself that you can be.

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International Watch

Corruption in the Russian Federation:

a further challenge to the International Human Rights Regime

By Fabricio Godoy LLM/International Human Rights and Development

The International community has long worked to create a human rights regime by adopting a number of international legal instruments, and encouraging as many nations as possible to sign and ratify them. Such instruments aim to create an atmosphere of respect for all human beings without discrimination while protecting their most basic rights and trying to make them universally acknowledged. Some of these basic rights are widely accepted by most nations, including the Russian Federation, such as the right to life, right to liberty and security, right of a decent living standard for themselves and their families including the right to social security, and to effective remedies by competent tribunal in case of any breach of these rights.

Notwithstanding, these are not only rights to be acknowledged and respected by governments themselves, but also to be protected in every aspect of interpersonal relations between citizens, and between any governmental body and businesses or individuals.

Here is where corruption becomes highly hazardous to society. When resources that should be directed to essential public services, but instead, are being used for private interests, they fail to those who need most; when citizens are insecure, they are hostages of the arbitrariness of criminal organisations when seeking their illegitimate interests; when civil society organisations are being prevented from denouncing the lack of transparency within the bureaucracy, they are wasting the opportunity of making the law work for all members of society without distinction or privileges.

What we see next is that many, if not all of these rights, are being severely undermined.

Besides basic human rights, the international law also has adopted instruments which provide directly for the problem of corruption, such as the “UN Convention against Corruption” and the “UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime”. Both are aimed at creating responsibility within governments, while encouraging them to criminalise the various aspects of corruption such as bribery, embezzlement, extortion, money laundry, illegal transfer of values, etc. as well

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as measures of prevention, such as the creation of inspection bodies, reporting mechanisms, cooperation within member nations and the improvement of the civil society’s freedoms and rights.

Regarding the Russian Federation, although there were some improvement in the last decade represented by the “Russian Anti-Corruption National Strategy” as well as the last report on corruption published by the “Group of States against Corruption” (GRECO), which stated that obligations are slowly being fulfilled by Russian authorities, Russia still occupies the 133rd position out of 176 countries in the last research named “Transparency International Barometer” on corruption perception by its population. Moreover, it is remarkable that Russian public policies regarding the effectiveness of its punitive apparatus such as the judiciary system and the police are still far behind international standards on the prevention of corruption within Russian officialdom. Interestingly enough, regardless of the Russian government’s good will or not on fighting corruption, many authoritarian measures aiming to intimidate civil society organisations, as well to undermine their reputation in the public eyes are being taken.

All of that leads me to conclude that the system of “political capitalism” adopted by the Russian Federation on its road towards democracy, after decades of authoritarianism, which according to the sociologist Georgy Derlugyan, “to a high degree, is dependent on personal ties, informal agreements, bureaucratic intrigues, and criminal violence” , as well as the culture of impunity disseminated throughout Russian history, may be the very source of so many paradoxes within Russian society. Certainly Russian citizens and authorities are facing further challenges in a quite distant end towards the total compliance with the international human rights regime of the United Nations, and towards the ideal of democracy and the achievement of more transparency, fairness and effectiveness in Russian public affairs.

“ Street Law Project LSBU Street Law is a Student Law Society led project that runs in conjunction with the LSBU law department. The project is designed to engage school and college students in a critical examination of their legal responsibilities and rights.

By taking law into the school/college classroom, LSBU law students will engage in discussions with school/college students about practical legal problems, contemporary legal issues, and the ramifications of breaking the law.

Participating colleges are partner institutions of the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences.

Newham College is the first education partner to take part in the scheme. More recently, Croydon College took part leading some students at the college who had not applied to LSBU to enquire about how to change their choice of university so that they can come to LSBU. LSBU law students participating in Street Law are selected through an interview process and given training by Principal Lecturer in law, Louise Andronicou and Senior Lecturer Tracey Aquino, who both accompany the LSBU students when going to partner colleges. The team receive a warm welcome from the colleges, with hospitality, including lunch, laid on.

Megan Bennett, columnist for the magazine together with George Huxley, both members of the Street Law team tell us more.

Applications for the next appointed Street Law Coordinator to join the 2014/2015 Student Law Society Committee have now closed. However, info on how to get involved in the next college visit will be announced soon!

Our first Street Law session took place at Newham College. The day involved looking through a scenario, helping the college students to prepare for a mock trial, and finally taking part in the mock trial.

The aim of the session was to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime and give them an example of the sort of things that we do at university.

The college students were enthusiastic about the task and impressed all of us at LSBU with their interest in the project and their advocacy skills in the mock trial. The class was split into two teams: a defence team and a prosecution team. The mock trial was a great success, with the judge wearing full attire and the jury deciding the verdict.

After meeting the LSBU students and lecturers and enjoying the day, some of the pupils are now even hoping to be able to complete their law degrees at LSBU! One A Level student said “An excellent, fantastic experience - have never experienced anything as amazing as this before. I would recommend it to others.”

The day at Newham College was a brilliant experience for everyone involved and the team are looking forward to their next project date at Croydon College.

”

George Huxley, a second year LLB student:

“

The Street Law presentation at Croydon College was a great day. The students engaged in the trial and made it really fun and enjoyable.

The project helps college students understand the court process and gives them a taster of what to expect at university while teaching

”

them about the dangers of knife crime.

After the successful delivery at Croydon College, Tracey Aquino commented,

“

the college students were very impressive in their roles and their enthusiasm for the project

”

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Sports Law

So long Sochi...

By Leasha Newman

The Sochi Winter Olympics have now concluded and Russia was praised for hosting a fantastic games. The Olympic flame was blown out by the polar bear mascot and with it died the uproar of human rights issues relating to anti-gay laws in Russia.

Prior to the games, a number of high profile athletes spoke out against the controversial gay propaganda laws. More than 50 current and former Olympians called on the International Olympic Committee to uphold principle six of its charter, which forbids discrimination of any kind.

Currently in Russia, there are no laws prohibiting discrimination against the LGBT community and in 2013 Putin passed laws allowing the police to arrest or detain tourists who they suspect could be gay. The law also imposes fines for those speaking in defence of gay rights or stating that gay relationships are equal to heterosexual ones in front of minors.

There were small and subtle protests at the start of the games with Germany wearing rainbow uniforms to the opening ceremony whilst Canada and Sweden sponsored adverts supporting gay athletes, with a slogan saying ‘The games have always been a little gay.

Let’s fight to keep them that way.’

Despite the furore, once the games got under way most public criticism went quiet. However one athlete continued to voice her opinion, US figure skater Ashley Wagner spoke out about human rights and said to reporters ‘My stand against the LGBT legislation here in Russia is really the most that I can do right now, I’m here to compete first and foremost.’

The main protest came from Italian Vladimir Luxuria, a transgender gay activist. She attended a women’s

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hockey game wearing a rainbow skirt after broadcasting her intention to protest. She was then removed from the Olympic park by police who had detained her a day before for sporting a ‘gay is ok’ banner outside the Olympic park.

Leslie Morrow, director of an LGBT resource centre responded to the situation saying ‘Obviously I find that it’s a human rights violation. Seeing that these laws are becoming more and more archaic and senseless, it doesn’t make sense to discriminate against someone based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.’

In response to the uproar, Russian deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak stated that the new laws (passed in 2013) were to protect children and denied that Russia discriminated against people because of their sexuality.

He said ‘we are all grown up and every adult has his or her right to understand their sexual activity. Please, do not touch kids. That’s the only thing. That’s prohibited by law in all countries whether you are gay or straight.’

Many people feel that the Olympics has brought much needed attention to the issues on gay rights in Russia but fear that this may fade with the end of the games. Observers believe that Mr Putin is enforcing these extreme measures in order to secure the support of conservative Russians. Despite Putin being heavily criticised for passing these laws, it seems that 84% of Russians are in support of these laws according to a study carried out by ‘The Washington Post’. In light of this data it seems that any progression for rights in the LGBT community in the future could be very slow moving.

Student Law Society Support | Members

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Getting in touch Are you interested in contributing to The Devil’s Advocate?

Perhaps you have an interesting article relevant to the law or have useful advice for your fellow law students?

@lawDadvocate

dalaweditor@gmail.com

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